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Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler
Our Lady of the Sign
I know now more than
ever that Mary is truly
the model of consent to
the presence and action
of the Indwelling Spirit
- exactly what Centering
Prayer offers each of us.
Some years ago, I visited the Petite Palace Museum in Paris to
view an exhibit of icons from Mount Athos. It was a breath-taking
experience – the beauty and power radiating from these icons was so
palpable. My attention was drawn to an icon of Mary the Mother of
God and as I approached her, my heart was opened and tears filled my
eyes. She stood before me, her heart filled with an icon image of her son
Jesus Christ. Touched deeply, I recognized this image as my very own
experience of Christ residing in my heart. One with the icon, I was
immediately drawn to silence and overcome with awe, and stood there
for a long period of time absorbed by the grace I felt pouring outward
to me. Suddenly I was brought back to the museum by bells indicating
closing time. Reluctant to leave, I made my way to the bookstore where
I looked for a replica of the icon. I went through postcards, books and
posters and found nothing. Then I quickly returned to the exhibit to
get one more glimpse of this remarkable icon. When I returned home I
began again the search for a replica to have as my very own, but found
nothing. Over time I gave up the idea of finding one and the image
slowly faded from my mind, yet remained impressed on my heart.
Then last May, Fr. Carl Arico was giving a retreat in Long Beach
Island and an iconographer was in attendance. At the conclusion of
the retreat she approached him with her business card and told him
she would like to make a donation of an icon to the Contemplative
Outreach office. When he returned, he told me the story and asked
me to go online to select the icon of my choice for our office. Scrolling
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CONTEMPLATIVE OUTREACH NEWS
december 2011